UK

Beyond Catalonia

As you know I lived in London for some time, but it is when you visit a place when you discover more about it and this time I went back to London for some days this month and I discovered a new place in Covent Garden: Stanfords travel bookstore.
Stanfords travel bookstore in Covent Garden is known to be the biggest travel bookstore in the world. They have…

Beyond Catalonia

Saint Valentine's day is approaching and you might be thinking of going somewhere with your loved one. There are so many places that are known as Romantic, the typical one might be Paris la cité de l'amour -city of love- but there are so many others that you might not think of.
You will find some recommendations from travel bloggers of different cities and …

Beyond Catalonia

Happy to present you the first miniguide about Scotland, mainly Glasgow and Edinburgh so you can enjoy a long weekend and take the most of it.
Let's start for
tips and tricks to prepare a long weekend, this is a useful guide with advice to take the most of your long weekend trips.
I tried to gather all information that I learn and check in my trips and…

Beyond Catalonia

As you know, I was in Scotland for
a long weekend in Glasgow but took a day to go to Edimburgh, it is around an hour on the train, very comfy and quick. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, a beautiful city, its old town and new town districts of Edinburgh are listed in Unesco World Heritage list. The old town as a unique medieval town and the new town …

Beyond Catalonia

Baking, baking is something that is not very typical in Spain, at least it was not. Although more and more is getting trendy, and cupcake shops and sweet shops are appearing in Barcelona. I never baked with my mum as a child and know as a grown up I find baking a very relaxing and educational activity.
I am lucky to have friend that love baking and know a l…

Beyond Catalonia

tIf you like shopping, congratulations Glasgow is your place! Glagow has loads of shops, you can find bargains all year. Being in the UK has its advantages, as you might know in general clothes are cheaper -at least comparing it with Spain-, and you have a lot more chances to find good quality clothes from known brands at a fair price.
I got a bargain in GA…

Beyond Catalonia

My first time in Scotland, I wanted to try as much as I could fo their cuisine, know their flavors and typical dishes. I have to thank my hosts as they made it very easy for me. Helen's mum, Ross, she was our cook for the weekend and she prepared delish scottish food for us.
This was a great opportunity to try exquisite home made scottish food. Have a loo…

Beyond Catalonia

Christmas is around the corner, and this reminds me of London, freezing, snowing and of course Hyde Park Winter Wonderland market. When I lived there I was surprised on how seriously British people take Christmas. All shops, streets, everyone is so into Christmas decorations and all... Check out
Christmas markets around the world, you might be surprised.
…

Beyond Catalonia

As you might know, I spent three days in Glasgow and I wanted to experience the city as a Glaswegian. So I started to give myself away while my host Helen showed me the city. I knew some of the attractions or monuments as I had a
The best of Scotland guide from Lonely Planet and I could prepare myself for that trip.
With only three days ahead, I did not pl…

Beyond Catalonia

General information
Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland and the third one in the UK after London and Birmingham. The citizens in Glasgow are known as Glaswegian and also Glaswegian is the name of the Scottish dialect as well. The famous river Clyde is in Glasgow.
Weather
The weather in Glasgow is a bit different from the one found in the rest of Scotlan…

Beyond Catalonia

People in Glasgow
I knew some things about Scotland, and I had my Scottish friend Helen as the representative of the country and I knew her 5 years ago so I had plenty of time to get an idea about Scotland and what Scottish people are about.
But here we go fully packed with winter clothes while is sunny in Spain snif snif... My first contact with Scotla…

Beyond Catalonia

I am so exited to start this section on travel guides, I love travel guides, I have full shelves of guides of places I have been and Ibuy new ones about the places I would like to go to.And so my new one is The best of Scotland by Lonely Planet, as you might know already, I am planning a three day trip to Scotland with my friend Helen, she is from Glasgo…

Beyond Catalonia

I went to London last month right after the Olympics, and you know that feeling when you have not been around for a while and think wow, things have changed here since last time. So that was my impression when I went to Notting Hill, we were heading to the famous
Portobello market when we saw the new Jamie Oliver's shop.
For those who don't know Jamie Ol…

Beyond Catalonia

Glasgow is a city with a past image that is rough and ready. However, fast forward 10 years and you will see a difference. I'm a Glaswegian, who lived most of my life in the city and have witnessed the changes over the years. However, Glasgow is now a cosmopolitan city with so much to do. It was even crowned the European city of culture in 1990.
1) Vi…

Beyond Catalonia

When being in London visiting I discovered bubble tea in Nothing Hill, I have never heard about it before. Bubble tea is the name given to refreshing flavored fruit teas and milk teas as well served with ice cold or chewy tapioca balls.
Those chewy tapioca balls are on your bubble tea and you suck them up with a big straw the same size of the balls. It's…

Beyond Catalonia

I was so excited when going to London, when I used to live there, my friend Sara and me wanted to go to the Jack the Ripper Tour, but you know is one of these things that you always say you will do and then all of sudden you don't live there anymore and you haven't done it.
So as I was going to London to visit for some days we decided to plan ahead and b…

Beyond Catalonia

Hilton is a well-known company around, but I worked for Hilton in the past and I know the secrets tips and tricks of the chain, so when I stayed at Hilton Tower Bridge I wanted to be very picky and expect what you should expect from a 4 star hotel with such a high rates they had after the Olympics. Lucky me I did not pay high rates at all, I was staying wi…

Beyond Catalonia

When I used to live in London what I loved the most were markets. Going out and eat in the street some delish food from a little shop or a market stand. Here you have my favorite selection of London Markets you should not miss.
Brick Lane-Liverpool street
Brick Lane is a paradise for vintage lovers, the place is full of vintage clothes stalls and shops. I…